Public Service Commission approves Africatown oil pipeline

The Public Service Commission voted today to approve an application for a Certificate of Industrial Development from Plains Mobile Pipeline, Inc., according to a press release.

The approved project consists of the installation of approximately 2.2 miles of pipeline, reported to cost $14.4 million. Although the approved pipeline lies wholly within Alabama’s borders, it is considered to be an interstate project, limiting the Alabama Public Service Commission’s role in the permitting process, and requiring the Commission to render a decision specific to whether the proposed pipeline would be “in the furtherance of industrial development.”

Petroleum storage tanks on property owned by Plains Marketing will be connected to an existing interstate pipeline via a new 2.2 mile pipeline approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission Nov. 5.

The Alabama Public Service Commission will hold a public proceeding Monday, Oct. 28 to hear comments about a proposed 2.2-mile pipeline replacement. In the image above, Plains Mobile, Inc. proposes to replace an existing 36-inch petroleum pipeline (blue) with a new one (red).

Place 1 Commissioner Jeremy Oden stated that “after reviewing the testimonies introduced in the Oct. 30 hearing, the evidence demonstrated substantiated that the 36-inch pipeline project does in fact meet the threshold of furtherance of industrial development.”

Oden explained that he based his decision on multiple factors including job creation and retention, continuation of petroleum operations in the area and enhancement of local revenues and taxes, according to the press release.

There are no prior court cases that address the standard of “in the furtherance of industrial development” as set forth in Code 10A-21-2.04, therefore the threshold for disapproving a pipeline project is minimal. At the public proceeding Oct. 28, PSC administrative Judge John Gardner advised the three commissioners not to respond to a question asking them to define how they interpret “in furtherance of industrial development.”

“The PSC is required to follow the laws set by the state legislature, and in this case, Alabama law states that we have no jurisdiction over environmental, public health, or eminent domain matters,” Oden said in a statement. “My fellow Commissioners and I worked to assist the residents in that area by hosting a public hearing in Mobile to explain our role in the process and to guide those with questions to the appropriate responsible parties.”

Oden stated that he and his staff followed up on several concerns vocalized during the public hearing in Mobile, first verifying that Plains made the appropriate filings with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office and confirming that Plains Mobile Pipeline Inc. was a legitimate corporation.